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John Tortorella, the new head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights, hosts a press conference in honor of the official announcement. Tortorella has a long coaching history in the NHL, making him a reliable candidate for the Golden Knights.\u00a0Photo courtesy of @vegasgoldenknights on Instagram<\/p>\n
It rarely happens that an NHL team decides to fire their head coach right before the Stanley Cup Playoffs.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0even more rare when that team is\u00a0already sitting in a playoff spot\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Sunday, March 29, the Vegas Golden Knights\u00a0(33-26-16),\u00a0released a statement saying they were relieving head coach Bruce Cassidy of his duties and replacing him with John Tortorella.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thank Bruce Cassidy for his dedication to our hockey club and community over the past four seasons,\u201d said General Manager Kelly McCrimmon in a\u00a0statement released Sunday.<\/a>\u00a0\u201cUnder Bruce\u2019s leadership, we reached our\u00a0ultimate goal\u00a0in 2023 by bringing a Stanley Cup to Vegas. Bruce will forever be remembered with the utmost regard by our organization for what was\u00a0accomplished\u00a0here.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n McCrimmon added \u201cWith the stretch run of the 2025-26 regular season upon us, we believe that a change is necessary for us to return to the level of play that is expected of our club. With John Tortorella, we bring in a Stanley Cup Champion as well as one of the most experienced and respected coaches in the NHL.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Cassidy\u00a0led\u00a0the team to a Stanley Cup victory in 2023, just one year\u00a0after the Boston Bruins organization fired him after six seasons.\u00a0Cassidy\u2019s tenure in Vegas resulted in a 178-99-43 record across his four seasons as head\u00a0coach.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fans should keep an eye on Cassidy, especially during the off-season as the veteran coach would be a good fit for a team ranking low in the standings looking to make a change to their coaching staff.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Tortorella is no stranger to the NHL. He has served as head coach in the league for a total of 23 seasons, most recently with the Philadelphia Flyers\u00a0(2022-25). Tortorella also spent six seasons with the Colombus Blue Jackets where he led\u00a0the team to its first ever second round\u00a0appearance\u00a0in the playoffs back in 2019.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Tortorella\u2019s most recent notable appearance in the coaching setting\u00a0was\u00a0earlier this year where he served as the assistant coach for the United States. He helped lead the Americans\u00a0to a gold medal win\u00a0alongside current Knights players forward Jack Eichel and defenseman Noah Hanifin.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Tortorella\u2019s tenure with the team\u00a0remains\u00a0uncertain as he is on an agreement to coach the team throughout the regular season and the playoffs, granted Vegas secures a spot. A long-term agreement will then be discussed based on Tortorella\u2019s performance as head coach,\u00a0according to ESPN.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/forbesmagazine.png\")
Bruce Cassidy, former coach of the Vegas Golden Knights, lifts the Stanley Cup following their championship win in 2023. Cassidy was recently fired and replaced by John Tortorella, who was previously the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers.\u00a0Photo courtesy of @forbesmagazine on Pinterest<\/p>\n